February 2022 (Page 8)

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll said that the uncertainty around the ownership of the club is “unsettling” for both him and his players.

The boss and all his squad – with the exception of defender Morgan Williams – are out of contract come the end of the season and yet (it appears) no discussions are happening with any of them about their futures.

But, with Saturday marking two full months since chairman Scott Priestnall set a seven-day deadline to conclude a deal, it appears no employees at the club have been given any kind of update.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.

Asked about his the ongoing situation, the manager said: “It’s unsettling for me, definitely. As a father, as a husband, and all the other fathers and husbands in our squad, not having an idea of where you are going to be working in five months time can be unsettling and it can be beneficial to know.

“That’s completely out of our hands. The players are the employees of this organisation and I am their line manager, so when the line manager doesn’t have too much of an idea it’s hard to filter that down.

“I’ve had some conversations with some of (the players) and our viewpoint and our situation is quite similar.”

On January 18, Julian Jenkins, the former Cardiff City director behind talks to buy the club, said his Simul Sports Group was “in the final stages of due diligence“ around buying the club – but since then there has been no further communication.

Asked whether he thought a deal was imminent, Sarll said that the focus of his players and him was purely on the field.

He added: “I have known nothing from the start. It’s Scott’s business, not Darren Sarll’s. If I decide to keep my house, I have every right too, if I decide to sell it, it’s mine and I will do what I like about it.

“I am a professional football coach and working with 25-30 employees that report in to me and they need to focus on their job and we have to block out any noise.”

Former Glovers’ winger Nick Crittenden is “a great example” for the young players in the Yeovil Town squad, manager Darren Sarll believes.

The former Chelsea youngster, who made more than 150 times in four years at the club, was involved in the pre-match preparations ahead of last Tuesday’s derby with W*ymouth.

Nick Crittenden in action for Yeovil Town. Picture courtesy of Ciderspace,.

Having finished his playing career on the coaching staff at Dorchester Town, Crittenden has carved out a new career in accountancy and had a period looking after the books at Huish Park.

Of his role ahead of the derby, Sarll said: “I wanted someone there who’d played in those games (against W*ymouth).

“Nick is a great example as an ex-footballer who has rebuilt his trade (as an accountant), I think that is a wonderful example for young people.

“I wanted them to know he came on for Zola for his Chelsea debut and what a wonderful player he was for this club.

“When someone has lived and breathed that connection to the club for so long and it was great having him there.”

Whilst the boss said he expected Crittenden to “come in and out” of the backroom set up, there’s no progress on a longer term replacement for Terry Skiverton.

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Josh Staunton could be back in contention for tomorrow’s National League fixture with Solihull Moors at Huish Park, according to manager Darren Sarll.

The midfielder missed the last two games after through injury fortnight ago and had been expected to miss three matches, which would put him out until the visit to Wealdstone on Tuesday night.

But, Sarll said he was expecting Staunton to be putting him “in a position” to consider him for selection in the Glovers’ training session on Friday.

Speaking ahead of that match, the manager said: “Josh is going to train today (Friday), so I think there is going to be a very difficult conversation today at 2pm between our physio.

Josh Staunton, who has missed the past two matches through injury.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

“Josh is a very demanding patient, he wants to get to the next bit yesterday and knowing him he will train this morning, get through it and then he’ll knock on my door and saying ‘I’m ready to go.’

“There should be more of a scientific process of coming back to play, but when you have got players like Josh Staunton who are ready to play with pain.

“I’m going to hold on to see how he does in training, knowing Josh he’ll be smashing in to things before the session has even started and he might put me in to a position (where I have to consider him) for tomorrow.”

He also revealed that midfielder Matt Worthington was “feeling tight” after coming off in the 67th minute of Tuesday night’s 1-1 derby draw with W*ymouth and would need to be reviewed ahead of the visit by Solihull.

 

Midfielder Lawson D’Ath can help to create more chances to get our strikers firing, the boss said.

The 29-year-old made his first appearance after nine months out through injury as a 67th-minute substitute against W*ymouth having re-signed until the end of the season.

Sarll said: “If you look at the creation of chances, we have tried to add to that by bringing Lawson in and even on Tuesday night, his passing, the way the ball arrives in front of the player just right. So many opportunities this season have been passed up because we have not got that creative timing right, so I am hoping as Lawson gets fitter and accustomed to game time, he will give us that.”

He quickly added that he believed the former Reading youngster was “nowhere near fit enough to start a game” yet.

Solihull Moors strikers Danny Newton and Andrew Dallas were both players that Darren Sarll spoke with about coming to Yeovil in the summer.

Newton played for the manager at Stevenage and joined this weekend’s opponents instead, whilst Dallas was also someone who the boss looked at.

He said: “I know Danny very well, I brought him to Stevenage from Telford, and he was a player we spoke with and we would have liked him with us. Andrew Dallas was someone they acquired from Cambridge for a fee which was out of our capabilities. I don’t know Andrew, but I know Danny, he did really well for me at Stevenage coming out of National League North and in to the League. They are in good form and Neal (Ardley) is a very experienced coach and a good guy, so these are tough games but they are the ones we have applied ourselves well in the past. I am looking forward to this one more than I was on Tuesday, it’s a good game for us.”

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If W*ymouth – who picked up a winning draw at Huish Park in the week if their fans’ reaction is anything to go by – were bang out of form facing Yeovil Town, this weekend’s opponents, Solihull Moors, are bang in form.

In their last four matches, they have P4 W4 D0 L0 and scored 15 goals without reply.

Now, for context, those wins came against National League North side Southport in the FA Trophy and then bottom club Dover Athletic, two late goals at Torquay United and then Altrincham who were down to ten men after 22 minutes, but Neal Ardley’s men arrive in Somerset on the crest of a wave.

A striker who knows a lot about this part of the South West – see below for his manager’s review of the Westcountry – is Andrew Dallas, another player in form.

The former W*ymouth loanee has got 11 goals in his last four games, including all five in the 5-0 win over Dover and a hat-trick against Southport, and alongside him is an experienced head in Danny Newton, a player Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll will know from their time together at Stevenage.

The visitors will be without midfielder Jimmy Ball who made the move in to the Football League with Rochdale on transfer deadline day last week.

Anyone who attended the away game at Damson Parkway may remember him being a booking – it was an ‘orange card’ – for retribution against Tom Knowles, who he presumably blamed for his team-mate Jordan Cranston being unable to keep his hands to himself.

The fact Ardley was substituted Ball minutes after the booking tells you the boss thought his man got away with one there.

FROM THE MANAGER

It would seem that Solihull manager Neal Ardley has no plans to take his summer holidays in the Westcountry given his review of his side’s last visit to this part of the world – a 2-0 midweek win at Torquay – and his thoughts on a return visit down the M5 on Saturday.

Speaking after his side made it two wins in two for the week against Altrincham last Saturday, Ardley said: “We don’t mind Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, but when you do that for two weeks running it’s quite tough physically and mentally.

“We’ll have a breather now and then we’ll start preparing for Yeovil because Yeovil away and Torquay away they are horrible, horrible places to go.”

Well, not sure we think an awful lot of the Jaguar Land Rover plant around your place either, Neal, but anyway!

However, the Moors’ boss made the point that his side need to pick up wins against the teams below them which they have done in their last three league games – Dover, Torquay and Altrincham – have lost to Stockport and Bromley, who were above them in the table, in the two before that run.

Ardley added: “If you can win the games that you are expected to win like these last two at home, and you’ve got to grind out the ones that are tough like Torquay away and Yeovil away and try and pick up points.

“Everyone has to play each other, teams like Notts County, Wrexham, Chesterfield and Stockport, everyone has to play everyone.

“In some we have come up short and in others, Boreham Wood and Halifax, we have won them, but you have to win these games to stay in there.”

TEAM NEWS

Two players who will certainly not be around to trouble Yeovil Town this weekend are striker Justin Donawa and defender Callum Howe, who are both long-term injury victims.

Donawa broke his leg just before Christmas and has undergone surgery whilst Howe  has not featured since the start of December as he makes his way back from a long-term lay off.

Other than that, it’s a fairly clean bill of health available to Moors’ boss Neal Ardley going in to the weekend.

FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

A striker either side will be hoping to rediscover their scoring touch against their old employers this weekend.

Adi Yussuf.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

In the green-and-white corner, Glovers’ striker Adi Yussuf has not found the net since his brace in an FA Trophy win over Woking in mid-December – sorry, Adi, we can’t give you the own goal against W*ymouth on Tuesday.

His record as a Solihull player is pretty similar to that for Yeovil – either excellent or average. In the 2018-19 season he scored 17 times as Moors reached the National League play-offs, earning him a move back in to the Football League at Blackpool where he failed to hit it off.

So much so, he was loaned back to Moors in September 2019, making his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Yeovil – the Luke Wilkinson 7/7 performance, yes – and managed just one goal in 11 appearances.

Equally, Adam Rooney‘s three-game loan spell at Huish Park in 2007 was equally anonymous.

He failed to pull up many trees in League One whilst on loan from Stoke City, but when on to be prolific north of the border with Inverness and then Aberdeen before repeating that form with Salford City.

He’s made 18 appearances this season, scoring three times, but his last goal was back at the start of December.

Other players with a foot in both camps include:

  • Josh Neufville (Solihull – September 2019-January 2020; Yeovil – December 2020-June 2021)
  • Wes McDonald (Solihull – 2018, Yeovil – 2018-2019)
  • Jack Storer (Yeovil – 2017, Solihull 2017-18)
  • Jake Edwards (Yeovil – 2003-04, Solihull – 2008-10)
  • Lee Morris (Yeovil 2006-08, Solihull – 2011-2012)

 

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Settle in for a devil’s advocate session. Ian, Dave and Ben are here to chat about Weymouth, Solihull and everything YTFC.

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Yeovil Town 3 Brentford 0 – Saturday 2nd February 2013

Yeovil went on a remarkable run over the winter of 2012/13, winning eight in a row which took them from 12th up to 3rd in League One. The run included impressive victories away at Portsmouth, Sheffield United and Coventry, and big wins at home over Leyton Orient and Brentford. Following the mid-season arrivals of Dan Burn and Paddy Madden, the team had a very settled look with a strong starting XI. Recently arrived was Madden’s compatriot Kevin Dawson, who made his league debut at Sheffield Utd and would be ever-present on the right wing for the rest of the season, scoring the first goal in the memorable playoff win at Huish Park.

Of course scorer of the decisive goal against Sheffield Utd and a key member of the team was Ed Upson, who arrived without much fanfare in the summer of 2010, but by 2012 was the heart of the midfield and had become an assist machine in the mould of Lee Johnson. He scored one of his best goals for Yeovil in this 3-0 win in February 2013, which took the Glovers up to 7th. The other goals came from Madden, and Dan Burn right at the end.

Probably crucial to Upson’s development was that he was given time to develop and grow into the team. Rising through the youth team at Ipswich, he never made a league appearance for them, and following brief loan spells at Barnet and Stevenage he was released in the summer of 2010, when he was signed for Yeovil by Terry Skiverton.

In his first season, he was bedded into the team slowly, mainly as a replacement when Shaun MacDonald was not available, making 16 starts. He actually scored his only goal of that season on one of his first starts, as a very patched-up Yeovil side took an early 2-0 lead at Hartlepool in the FA Cup but ended up losing 4-2.

The following season he was given the No. 8 shirt and was first choice in midfield, forming a partnership with Paul Wotton in the first half of the season and making 45 appearances in all competitions. He began to develop an eye for goal, scoring five times mostly from long range, including this absolute stunner against Wycombe, as well as other long range strikes against Hereford and Fleetwood, both in the FA Cup. He also scored in the first minute of a 2-2 derby draw against Exeter.

However a midfielder’s job is to create goals more than score them, and in his first full season Upson got a creditable 9 assists, the most in the team and just ahead of Andy Williams with 8. Assists have become a very useful way of a measuring a player’s contribution especially in attacking areas, and it can also highlight the value of those who might possibly be under-appreciated if they create a lot more goals than they score. For example, Kevin Gall contributed 14 assists in 2003/04 and 12 in 2004/05, which may indicate why Gary Johnson kept him in the team even when the goals dried up.

Assists are still not very reliably recorded, and tend to be spread throughout the team much more than goals but looking at the available data a team needs at least one player who is going to get in double figures to have a good season, and high teens is a very good return. Anything over 20 would be exceptional – a midfielder who gets 20 assists is much harder to find than a striker who gets 20 goals. In many seasons, Yeovil have not had a player in double figures for assists and have not had once since Sam Foley in 2015, although Tom Knowles should get well into the teens this season (2021/22) if he doesn’t get injured.

Some of our most successful seasons have seen Michael McIndoe get 23 (2002/03), Lee Johnson get 20 (2003/04), and Chris Cohen get 13 (2006/07). Sam Foley got a very impressive 13 in 2014/15 despite playing in a team that got relegated. King of the assist makers is undoubtedly Lee Johnson, who got around 80 in 4.5 years at the club, so consistently almost 20 a season. By contrast, in the years that Yeovil have struggled, we have not had anyone in double figures – in 2007/08, Anthony Barry came out top with 6. What were the wingers doing that season? Things did improve under Skivo, with Andy Welsh contributing 10 in 2009/10 and 12 in 2010/11, so perhaps he was under-appreciated a bit.

This brings us back to Ed Upson, whose incredible 6 goals and 18 assists in 2012/13 represents one of the best returns we’ve ever seen for an attacking midfielder. Not quite as good as Lee Johnson’s 11 goals and 17 assists in 2004/05, but that’s a high bar.

Like Johnson Jr, Upson also specialised in spectacular goals, memorably scoring two from long range against Bristol Rovers in the JPT, as well as the only goal in a 1-0 win over play-off rivals Tranmere. He would continue to raise his game at Championship level, securing 5 goals and 3 assists in half of a difficult season before moving to Millwall in January. With his contract running out, he had shown that he was capable of playing at a higher level than Yeovil and taking a transfer fee rather than allowing him to leave for nothing at the end of his contract was probably the right choice. He did leave us with some good Championship memories though, scoring Yeovil’s first Championship goal at Millwall on the first day, as well as two more long range efforts against Nottingham Forest in a 3-1 win.

He played in the Championship for two years, before being relegated to League One with Millwall. He remained with the Lions for another year, before spending two years at MK Dons and three at Bristol Rovers, all in League One, and it looks like he’s still got an eye for goal. He has since played for Newport and just moved to Stevenage so who knows, perhaps as he gets towards the end of his career we will see him again!

Team that day: Marek Stech, Luke Ayling, Jamie McAllister, Byron Webster, Dan Burn, Matt Dolan (sub. Joe Edwards 24), Ed Upson (sub. Dominic Blizzard 82), Kevin Dawson, Sam Foley, James Hayter (sub. Kwesi Appiah 74), Paddy Madden. Subs not used: Gareth Stewart, Richard Hinds, Lewis Young, Gavin Williams

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Highlights of last night’s derby draw with W*ymouth are now available on the club’s YouTube channel.

They confirm the Yeovil goal as an own goal to visiting defender Tyler Cordner and, if you skip forward to 3 minutes 55 seconds, can anyone tell us how Adi Yussuf has missed that?!

 

 

 

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We drew with Weymouth, yet again, and we probably shouldn’t have. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from a game of two halves at Huish Park last night.

Darren Sarll
Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz,.

The first half performance was bad. We were disjointed and looked like a group who hasn’t played together before. Our dynamism up front against Wrexham and Woking just wasn’t there. We knew we’d feel the absence of Tom Knowles, but maybe not THAT much. W*ymouth controlled possession nicely and seemed to have an answer for whatever we threw at them. The first half was littered with misplaced passes, one of which put us on the backfoot in the fourth minute, loose touches and Darren Sarll reacted at half time.

Our second half performance suggests we may actually have a Plan B.  The half time introduction of Reuben Reid and a switch to 4-4-2 changed our fortunes, and allowed us to unlock our wide areas a bit. I thought Reid improved us and the switch allowed us to see more of Charlie Wakefield and Jordan Barnett. It took Weymouth a bit of time to adapt and we managed to grab a fortuitous equaliser before they did. With Knowles back, I think we’d all prefer to see the exciting front three including him Wakefield and Sonny, but if we need to change it up, we do have an option of a 4-4-2.

It was great to see Lawson D’Ath back. I don’t think we can overstate the quality of Lawson D’Ath. But for his injuries, he’d be an EFL player for sure. His composure, his technique and his vision are supreme at this level. His cameo in midfield didn’t help us to victory, but he managed to remind us of what he’s capable of and with some more games under his belt, he has the opportunity to make an impact in our midfield.

Adi Yussuf should have scored that chance at the death. He could have scored just after W*ymouth’s opener. I think we did enough in the second half to deserve the win but as has been the case on sixteen times this season, we could only score one goal when he needed more. Is Adi Yussuf the man to do it? It feels increasingly likely that he is not. Yussuf is a marmite player. Wealey was very complimentary of him during commentary, and he’s far more qualified to pass judgement than I am, but I thought he was poor. He didn’t hold the ball up, I felt he struggled to influence when he had the ball. Even his shot for the goal was diverted in. He does run around though, and cause defenders problems by being a nuisance. I suppose it depends if we want a striker who impacts games in that way, rather then putting the ball in the net.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Give Charlie Wakefield a new contract, please!  The highlight of the night was the ‘Star Man’ on the right. (I can’t think of a player ever having two great chants). His running, his desire and effort for the cause is unparalled in this team. The hope and expectation when he picks up the ball vibrates around Huish Park and more often then not he beats more than one player to find a cross, get a shot away or do something impressive. In my view, he’s been our signing of the season. For a player who had a patchy injury record and struggled to cement a place at Wealdstone and Bromley, truthfully I didn’t expect a great deal from him. He’s f*cking dynamite, though.

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Yeovil Town promotion-winning captain Jamie McAllister has told the Gloverscast that he wanted to stay at Huish Park when he was released in 2014.

Jamie McAllister in action for Yeovil Town.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The Scotsman had made 40 appearances as the Glovers were relegated from the Championship after just one season and said he expected to be offered a new contract.

Speaking on the latest interview in our GloversPast series, he said: “The big low was getting let go. I’d played 40-odd games in the Championship, I was expecting to sign a new deal, but it never came.

“I wanted to stay and play another year or two, but for whatever reason, it didn’t happen.

“It wasn’t down to finances or anything, I just never got offered anything which was disappointing.”

In the interview, he talks to us about how Gary Johnson’s vision of what he could achieve at Yeovil led him to turn down a move north of the border, his memories of that magical day at Wembley in 2013, and playing in front of crowds of more than 80,000 having moved to the Indian Super League having left Yeovil.

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Yeovil Town captain Luke Wilkinson said the team “let themselves down” with a poor first half performance in a 1-1 derby draw with W*ymouth at Huish Park.

The centre half said the team “had words” at the interval having been booed off at 1-0 down courtesy of a fourth minute goal from Sean Shields for the bitter local rivals.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, he said: “The first half was not good enough from us and we had words at half-time, but the second half we came out and I think we had a much better performance.

“But, like we said after the game, we have to be doing that for 90 minutes and the gaffer has told us we cannot turn up for one half and play alright and think we’ll get away with it.”

The visitors, who are eight points adrift of safety in the National League relegation zone, played with much more freedom in the first half.

Wilkinson added: “They are fighting for their lives and it’s a local derby which levels things out, but the performance from us was just not good enough.

“We let ourselves down a little bit first half, but credit to the lads because we turned it around second half and got the goal, we just couldn’t get that second one to win it.”

It was good to see Wilko already looking forward to our Easter Monday trip down to the seaside.

He added: “I have been here three years so I know what it means to the fans. Let’s hope we can win the reverse fixture down there.”

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll said his side deserved to win the game against W*ymouth after coming from a goal down to secure a point.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins, Sarll admitted the first half needed improving on, but that his side probably deserved to take all three points.

He said: “After that second half there’s only one team who deserved to win the game, in terms of goal mouth entries – they had one good chance in the second half – but apart from that they’ve had the mistake that we’ve made (for the goal) and one very good chance [in the] second half. 

We’ve had multiple entries and I said to them, you need to take heart from the second half, but understand we have got to make it like that for 90 minutes.”

Adi Yussuf forced the ball goalwards for the Glovers’ equaliser, and could have won the game with the final kick of the game, but couldn’t quite send the manager “flying down the touchline” in celebration.

“I thought we deserved to win the game”, continued Sarll, “just for oohs and aaahs, I thought we deserved to win the game because our intent early on was to win the game and we have to be a lot more composed and try and bring out – and try and bring out – those creative instincts in the players.”

There was praise for the constant threat offered by Charlie Wakefield who was described as the “find of the F-ing century” as well as the introduction of Reuben Reid who both posed a threat for the hosts, as well as the returning Lawson D’ath.

“His footballing intelligence is excellent, really excellent, I loved having him back out there, he does give us that genuine opportunity to play with two midfielders like when [Josh] Staunton is available, and he gives us a way, a vision – he can pick a pass and pick someone out.

When you’ve got receivers like Wakefield, Adi and Reuben and Tom Knowles you need someone who is going to be able to distribute the ball.”

Yeovil are back in action hosting Solihull Moors on Saturday kicking off at 3pm